Chisels and Unpainted Figures
by Celestial Rainstorm
Summary: It is a beautiful spring day in the Valley of Peace. Shifu has granted his students a day off. However, there is one question - where has Po gotten off to? Tigress searches for him, and in that day of peace, realizes that there is more to this panda than meets the eye...as well as the heart. Tito-scented, oneshot. Please review.


**I was suddenly whacked right in the middle of the forehead last night - make a _Kung Fu Panda_ fanfic. So here it is, first thing that came to mind. I don't know if this idea had already been used, I haven't really navigated the _Kung Fu Panda_ archives. They're immense. That is why I have a hesitation to publish in any of those huge categories, like _How to Train Your Dragon_, _Kung Fu Panda_, or _Harry Potter_. Will anyone read and review my story, out of thousands? Could you all prove me wrong? **

**Well, here is a cute, fluff-filled fic on a peaceful spring morning. Also, semitars are sharp swords from Japan. :p **

**~Cel**

The Valley was illuminated a soft golden color as the rays of early morning sun shone through the tall hills, their grassy waves slowly swaying in the gentle breeze. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, and those that were, were merely wispy puffs that were soon to disappear. The citizens down far below in the peaceful village were just waking up. Some walked out into the streets, ready to begin their daily lives and routines. Shops opened, hungry customers were gathering at the local noodle restaurant, eager for a warm, brothy breakfast, and perhaps a freshly made, steaming hot dumpling. It was a perfect, quiet spring morning.

Upon the highest peak that surrounded the Valley, there lay an ornate palace, perched close enough to the Valley to keep a vigilant watch over the citizens that inhabited it, yet close enough to the heavens so the spiritual energy that unmistakably flowed through the palace helped it's students with their training in the ancient martial arts.

However, within the oriental, hollowed corridors within the Jade Palace, there wasn't much training going on this morning. The Master of the great palace, Shifu, had been quite generous today. It had been approximately three weeks since the defeat of Lord Shen in Gongmen City, the faraway land at peace once more and once again under the protection and power of the Counsel, with Masters Storming Ox and Croc appointed as the generals of the Counsel. The six students, the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior were not quite ready to get back to training. Of course, their coarse Master had demanded that they resume their training five days after the final battle. But today, even he seemed a bit tired, so as the students had lined up, ready for another hardened day, he announced that everyone was in need of a break. But do not take too much of an advantage today – for tomorrow, they were going to be trained twice as hard.

Nevertheless, the students felt quite relieved. Even though they were Masters of their arts, and could beat the tail, feathers, and fur off of nearly everyone they came up against, they weren't invincible. Even the toughest of them had slept in a few mornings, much to her chagrin. So, they all mulled around for a few hours, chatting and laughing. They strolled around the Palace, while they couldn't help but notice that there was a large empty space beside them, where their largest friend usually resided, his jokes making everyone laugh and his carefree manner making everyone around him feel at ease.

"Hey, anyone seen Po around?" Mantis asked the group, perched upon Monkey's furry shoulder.

"You're right. I haven't seen him since this morning. Where has he gotten to?" Crane agreed, his brows furrowing in confusion. Usually the sociable panda bear loved to be around his friends, and they sometimes had a hard time unsticking him from their hips when it was time for training or bed. The three boys, who had been together for the past hour or so, thought in silence. Crane then noticed Viper slithering up, with Tigress walking silently behind her. They came up to the boys.

"Hey, do you guys want to come with us? We're going to head down to the Valley, and do a little shopping." Crane said, lifting his wing to reveal a bulging money sack tied to his waistband. It was very rarely that the Furious Five got to shop. Shifu insisted that buying items was a waste of time, that they had everything that they needed in the Palace (he had stopped being so restrictive upon this matter, however, when the Five and Po had caught him buying up the lot of wontons at a single booth). Monkey grinned and patted his money bag as well, which was even bigger than Crane's. Viper smiled back and slithered up eagerly.

"Sure! It's been awhile since I've gone shopping, and I would like a new bamboo for my room. My bonsai quit on me." She grinned sheepishly – the poor snake had a knack for killing any bonsai tree that she tried to take care of. So she decided to settle for a hardier plant this time. Monkey looked up at Tigress.

"Tigress, do you want to come?" He asked, but the tiger shook her head.

"No, thanks, guys. You go on ahead." She replied, beginning to turn away when she heard Crane call after her.

"Hey, have you seen Po anywhere? He'd love to come, he loves shopping." Crane said with a roll of his brown eyes, with the others around him chuckling in agreement. Whenever the panda entered the shop market, he always returned with his patched money bag considerably lighter. Of course, many of the items he purchased were snacks he always shared with his friends. Tigress's ears perked up, realizing that she hadn't seen Po since they had woken up this morning.

"No, I haven't. I'll look for him. He's probably hiding in the kitchen." Tigress said with a roll of her amber eyes. Monkey furrowed his brows and flicked his tail indignantly.

"Yeah, and make sure he isn't in my almond cookies again!" He said in annoyance. Viper and Crane shared a look and giggled silently while the primate's back was turned. Ever since Monkey had found out that Po had discovered his secret cookie stash, he had been much more protective of his precious cookies from the ever-hungry bear. Tigress nodded.

"Yes, Monkey, I'll make sure that he isn't in your cookies." Tigress said consolingly. Monkey gave a sharp nod of satisfaction. With that, he and his friends turned away to descend the steps into the Valley. Tigress shook her head in subtle amusement before turning her back on her friends, wondering where the Dragon Warrior could possibly be.

Well this was rather frustrating. After a half an hour of searching, Tigress yielded no results. This was very much unlike Po. He rarely secluded himself, and when he did, Tigress knew that he was sad or upset over something, consequently finding something to snack on. He wasn't in the kitchen (Tigress had checked to make sure Monkey's cookie supply hadn't depleted in the least, all the while sneaking a cookie for herself. Monkey was sure not to notice). He wasn't in his room, sneaking away a nap (which were strictly forbidden in the Jade Palace). He wasn't in the training room, trying to get some extra hours in before tomorrow, when it was sure to be kicked into extra-high gear. He wasn't anywhere he normally was, or even places he normally wasn't.

Tigress stood beside the large tree in the courtyard, wondering where he friend might be. It wasn't like him to just disappear like this. Even when he traveled to the Valley to go and see Mr. Ping, he would always tell someone or leave a quick note in an obvious place, like on the tree, or on his door, or with Shifu. No message saying, "Went to see Dad. Be back soon. P.S. Monkey, it was me that ate your last three cookies. My bad. I'll pick up so more. Po, the Dragon Warrior." In one of those rare moments in her life, Tigress was completely perplexed.

She glanced up towards the highest cliff, where the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom stood, proud and ancient, looking silently over the Valley – the birthplace and place of death for the great Master Oogway, the place of so many gatherings, and a quiet place to just think. Tigress's sharp, fiery eyes caught just a blur of black and white, sitting upon the very top of the cliff. So that's where the Dragon Warrior was hiding himself!

But why was he up there, Tigress wondered. He had seemed perfectly cheerful when she had seen him last. What could have possibly upset him so? If Monkey, Crane, and the others hadn't seen Po since this morning, they couldn't have upset him. Shifu? No, he had been meditating in the Hall of Heroes.

Confused, a very determined Tigress began the hike up to the cliff, resolute in finding out what was wrong with the Giant panda.

It took merely fifteen minutes or so for Tigress to reach the peach tree. She peered over the edge of the cliff, silently making sure Po was not crying, or anything of that sort. His back was to her, and he was sitting in the shade under the tree. He didn't look sad at all, from what Tigress could tell. In fact, she could swear that she could hear him humming to himself, a cheerful little tune. Stepping up onto the smooth rock, the tiger woman walked forward silently, her soft pawsteps not alerting the panda man before her in the slightest. Completely oblivious that the tiger was behind him, Po continued on doing…whatever he was doing. He was hunched over, his large paws working diligently.

Tigress then softly cleared her throat. Po gasped and whirled around, jumping to his feet. In turn, his knee sent a small wooden board flying in the air. With a cry of dismay, the panda acted fast. Paws and arms flying, he caught what looked like several small jars in his paws, on his arms, and even one balanced on his head. The contents of the jar swished merrily around in its glass container, but didn't spill one drop onto the rock. Po sighed heavily in relief, before his dark green eyes flickered over to Tigress, who had watched the whole scene in surprise, but now with a smile on her face.

"Very good, Dragon Warrior." She complimented, holding her paw up to Po. In her padded palm was one of the small glass jars. Po gave her a brief smile before setting down the jars he had caught on the ground. He reached forward then, once free of the jars, and took the small container from Tigress. He grimaced slightly, quickly turning around, his back to the woman behind him.

"Uh…uh…you weren't…uhm, supposed to come up here…yet." Po said, his paws flying all around him, quickly picking up little objects that had scattered around him when he had sent the board of wood flying. He retrieved that as well, setting it upright. It looked not to be just a wooden board after all – it was a tiny little bamboo tray, with several scratches in the fine grain. Tigress walked forward again, and picked up one of the objects a clearly flustered Po had missed. She was about to hand it to him when she caught sight of what it really was. It was a perfectly crafted figure of Viper. The wooden figure was in segments with a thick band of woven grass between them. The figure could be bent into different poses and shapes. The ornate design on Viper's back was even painted on the figure. The face looked just like her friend, with her bright blue eyes and thin lips.

As Tigress examined the piece of work, turning it over carefully in her paws, Po made an uncomfortable noise. He was sitting down on the ground, his table straight. Upon it were several varying tools, from different sizes of chisels to other various other woodworking instruments to paintbrushes of all sizes. Many other figures like the one she had in her hands all stood together beneath the tree. The panda nervously clicked his blunt claws together. It was apparent that he wanted the figure of Viper back, but he didn't want to anger the temperamental warrior. Tigress quickly passed the figure into Po's paws. He placed it carefully beside the other figures, all the while trying to scoot them behind him.

Tigress tilted her head to the side slightly, her brow furrowing. Her eyes glanced from all the different kinds of chisels and other tools, then to the little figurines Po was still desperately trying to hide behind his large, furry body.

"Po…did you make all of those yourself?" Tigress asked quietly, trying to peer around the panda to see all of the figures that sat on the ground behind him. Po scoffed as if that statement was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard in his entire life.

"_Pffft_. What are you talkin' about? You kiddin' me? A warrior doesn't play around with silly little figures. No, he defends the Valley from the bad dudes. Making figurines? Naw, who would do such a dumb thing like that?" Po said, shrugging and trying to look indifferent to the finely crafted figures still sitting under the tree, the panda covertly putting a protective paw over them. Tigress raised a brow, looking down at the panda in incredulity.

"So then why are you up here by yourself, with all of those figures, and those chisels and hammers?" Tigress asked, crossing her striped arms and staring down the flustered bear. Po's eyes widened, and he opened and closed his mouth several times before managing to answer her.

"Uh…uhm…uh, I was…just…uh…y'know, I was just…" Po tried to say, before sighing deeply and bending his head, muttering quietly, "M-making figurines."

Tigress rolled her amber eyes to the perfectly clear spring sky and sat down beside Po, crossing her legs and offering him a gentle smile. The panda's head was still bent, frowning. He looked rather ashamed, to be honest. The tiger, instead of making fun of him, touched a paw to his shoulder.

"Can I see them?" She asked, and Po's eyes widened at her in surprise. He blinked a few times before shrugging to himself and turning to his side. Very carefully, he gathered up all of the figurines in his large paws, bringing them all forward for Tigress to see.

"You're not gonna smash them, are you?" Po asked, suspiciously raising a brow as he gingerly placed each one upright, spreading them out on the rock for Tigress to view. She didn't answer, for she couldn't help but stare at the beautiful works of art clearly sitting before her. Each one was a masterpiece, a crafted work of detail. She could easily spot the Furious Five – in fact, several different variations of each member. There were two Cranes – one standing, and then another with his wings spread and his graceful legs swooped out behind him. There were two Vipers as well – the one Tigress had picked up, and then another one with a pink ribbon in her tail. The ribbon looked like it could bend in any way, like a real ribbon. There were two life-size Mantis, the two figures pretty much the same. There were three Monkeys – one with his staff, one with a banana in one hand (his favorite snack) and an almond cookie in the other. The last Monkey was skillfully balancing on his tail, meditating.

There was three Shifu's – one in a fighting pose, one meditating, and then one playing his windpipe. Then there was a very angry-looking Tai Lung, looking ready to pounce upon the other figurines and rip them to shreds. His long tail was bendable, and his wooden claws looked quite sharp. Each spot was, well, spot-on. Then there was a Shen – his tail folded and unfolded, and he even had his deadly blade in wing, looking like he was almost fighting with one of the Monkey action figures. There was also the Wolf Boss they had encountered on their mission to Gongmen City, Shen's lieutenant. The cutest one of the lot was a little figure of Mr. Ping, Po's adoptive goose father. Ping had a bowel of grass noodles in one wing and a pair of miniature chopsticks in the other.

"Po, did you make _all_ of these?" Tigress asked quietly, still amazed at the beautiful craftsmanship and dedication obviously put into each figurine. She gingerly reached forward and picked up a panda figure – Po, obviously. The little figure even had the Dragon Warrior's special emerald eyes painted on the round, pudgy face. As she studied the little figure, she noticed that each segment was held together with a thick, yet flexible strand of bamboo. Tigress raised the arm of the little Po figure, and posed it so he was making a hefty kick. Po, the real panda, shrugged indifferently, looking as if he really wished Tigress would leave – which was something quite unusual for the panda, as he always seemed to want to be in the tiger's company.

"Y-yeah, maybe. So what? Look, I know it's dumb. I know twenty-three year old guys don't usually play with dolls. But…but when the kids down in the Valley used to make fun of me, I hid in my room. One day, when I was really sad, I found a piece of driftwood that looked really cool to me. I found a chisel Dad used to fix broken bowls. I began to kinda mess around with it, and I made a little wooden figure of a bonsai. It was cute, and I realized that making the tree had taken my mind off of how I felt. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still ate at least seven bean buns that day, but, still…it was _fun_." Po said, and then everything began tumbling out in a rush, and the poor panda couldn't seem to stop himself.

"So, I tried experimenting with things. Dad bought me a new set of chisels for my birthday, and I sat down and made a figurine of Monkey. It turned out really good, actually, so I went ahead and made the rest of you guys. They ended up on my windowsill, and I used to take them down all the time and make little adventures. It always made me feel better after the bullies picked on me. It made me feel like I had accomplished something good. And, well…I've been working on these for a few weeks now, when I had the time." He gestured to the figures sitting before them. He reached forward and picked up the figure of Crane in a flying position.

"See, I wanted to give this to Crane. I figured out if you take the string from a sun lantern and wrap it around the body, you can hang him from the ceiling and make it look like he's flying. And then this one…" Po continued, setting down the flying Crane and picking up the ribbon-dancing Viper, while Tigress watched with great interest. Po didn't seem to notice whether or not the tiger warrior was even paying attention, but he went on anyway. "This one is for Viper. Monkey already bought her a new ribbon, so I thought it was kinda stupid to buy her another one. So I made this for her. You can put her into all kinds of poses." Po said, demonstrating the dancing snake with the pink ribbon flowing around her.

"Then this one is for Monkey…this one is for Mantis. He'll think he's lookin' in a mirror, heh-heh…and if he wants it, this one is for Shifu." Po said, and then he chuckled to himself. "He will probably use it for target practice for tomorrow's training session." Tigress looked up and blinked at the panda. He was still looking away. A gentle smile appeared on her lips as she reached forward and placed a paw on Po's shoulder. The panda slowly turned, his brows raised.

"I think they're all beautiful, Po. You are a true artist, and a good one at that. And a good cook…and wonderful at kung fu. Is there anything you can't do?" Tigress said, chuckling to herself. Po smiled at the tiger's gentle joke, shrugging nonchalantly. His tense aura was suddenly lifted and it disappeared completely, as the clouds above had, leaving nothing but a clear blue sky.

"I could never do math right. All of my plants died. And my singing sucks." Po said, laughing lightly as well. Tigress smiled at him, but then looked back to the figurines spread out before her. A frown appeared on her face, her brow furrowing.

"Well, it looks like you've made everyone here…except for…" She said, a bit sadly. Po was her friend, possibly the closest friend she ever had. Po had understood Tigress completely, as he had also been an orphan, and had been disgraced by the children that lvied around him. He never judged her, and always managed to make her smile. Po looked up quickly at her statement and held up a paw.

"Oh, no! No, you think I forgot you? How could I forget the most hardcore of the Five?" Po said, scoffing at Tigress's ignorance. Turning to his right side, Po reached down and carefully picked something up from the ground. He turned back to Tigress, with a slightly shy look on his face. He extended his paws slowly towards Tigress. Lying in his padded palms was a gorgeous wooden tiger, one leg folded up and her long, powerful arms extended to the side. Tigress was completely speechless as she took the figure from Po's paws. She held it as if it would break in her powerful paws at any moment.

"Oh, Po…it's beautiful. But I'm…I…this looks prettier than me." Tigress said, and Po could feel the boiling blood rushing into his cheeks in embarrassment. He began to stutter, trying to find the right words to say to Tigress. Unfortunately, all of those words were caught in his throat, unable to bring his thoughts to voice. His jaw quivered, his mouth wide open. Tigress glanced up at him, and the pressure was far too much. He made a choking noise that Tigress could barely make the words out of.

"Uchk-uhyouarepretty…uh, it's justawoodenfigure…uck, it…" Po tried say, twiddling his thumbs nervously and clicking his claws together quickly. Tigress couldn't help but smile at Po's flustered attitude, but could also feel warm blood creeping into her cheeks at the panda's words. Very gently, she placed the figuring depicting herself onto the ground next to the one of the panda, still in the middle of a hefty kick to the belly.

"How come there's only one of me?" Tigress asked, playing with the striped wooden tail on the little figurine, making it curl upwards in anger, then curve outwards in concentration, like her own tail. Po remained silent for a few moments before exploding with a strange assorted jumble of words and choking sounds.

"Uh…yeah uh, that's the only one. The one and only one. The only _only_ one in the world. Yeah…well, I didn't make another one because…because I was afraid I would mess up on another one. I mean this one turned out perfect, and I wouldn't want to ruin a good piece of wood trying to attempt to create…uh…yeah…" Po said softly, looking down at his thumbs as if they were the most interesting objects he had ever seen. He began to nervously click his claws together again, casting Tigress nervous glances out of the corner of his eye. The tiger warrior smiled gently and rolled her eyes playfully. As she straightened, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. It was lying on its side beside Po's knee, and it was obviously another figurine.

"Hey, you missed one." Tigress said, reaching forward. Po jumped, and before he could do anything, Tigress seized the wooden figure lying on the ground beside his knee, just barely poking past him. Po jerkily reached for her paws, then pulled back quickly, afraid to get clawed (as a hardened warrior, Tigress very rarely retracted her razor-sharp, semitar-like claws). Tigress brought the figure closer to her eyes, studying it closely. It was only half-done, with only a little of the face and body painted. As she studied it closer, trying to figure out exactly what this was, she suddenly realized the mysteriously identity of the figure.

"It's me…" She whispered, her eyes growing wide and blinking. Po winced, slowly recoiling into himself as if bracing for an explosion of angry words and probably a few well-aimed punches from Tigress. However, she did none of those things. Instead, she continued to stare at the figure. It most certainly was one of her, except it was much different than any other of Po's figurines. True, it was still able to be posed, and it bended, but not into kung-fu postures. No, this figurine was a lady, not a warrior. She had a fan in one paw, and a flower behind one ear.

This figure of Tigress was dressed in a gorgeous outfit she had worn to the last Moon Festival. The kimono was made of some of the best silk in the province, and on the figure, it looked almost real, like it was draped loosely over the tiger's hardened body. The kimono had been a sparkling silver, embodied with red dragons and black vines growing flowers. She had had a beautiful fan depicting a sunset over the Valley. Behind one ear had rested a pink lotus flower. Dark copper eyeshadow had highlighted each amber eye. Po had attended the festival with his friends and Shifu, and he remembered that once he had laid eyes on Tigress, he couldn't seem to look away. He even had missed all the beautiful fireworks, as they had paled in the beauty of the warrior. Tigress had irately said that Viper had convinced her to dress up for this one occasion, that she planned never to do so again. The figure looked exactly as she had on that night. The kimono was half-painted, with all of the finest detail embroidered on. Tigress couldn't take her eyes off of the beautiful piece of work that depicted herself.

"Oh, Po…this, this is…it's _beautiful_." Tigress whispered, holding the unfinished figure to her heart. Po's emerald eyes lit up as he looked up at her, a shocked look on his face. His jaw dropped as if he had never heard anything more absurd or surprising. After a few moments of just staring, the panda managed the close his mouth and try to form intelligible words.

"Uh…uh…yeah, um…well, y-y'know, it…I really didn't think I would…I don't know if…I'll finish it. Um, because…because, well…" Po sighed, pointing his soft brown nose to the sky and looking like he had completely given up. If the tiger was going to scratch him, then, well…Mantis would be home in a few hours to fix him up. If he hadn't been completely slashed to ribbons by them. "I didn't want to finish it because I didn't think I could ever capture how pretty you looked that night. And…and I wanted to give it to you, but…but I figured it would just end up like the Swinging Claws in the training arena. So it's just been sitting on the back of the shelf." Po explained, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. However, it seemed rather hard, and it was obvious he really cared about Tigress having this figurine, and making it look just perfect.

Tigress looked at Po in disbelief. He wasn't looking at her, but down at his figures. She then looked back down at the figurine. She had never thought of herself as pretty. Until she was six, she had thought of herself as a monster, and for twenty years she still hadn't shaken that description. She was violent, uncaring, cynical…that was, until she had met Po. That was nearly a year ago now. And he saw her as someone she couldn't see in herself…

"Po, I would love to keep this forever…if you finish it for me." Tigress said softly, extending her paws to the panda. Po looked up, shocked, his brows raised and his emerald eyes wide. Then, once he saw the true, sincere smile on Tigress's face, he smiled back at her, reaching forward and taking the figure into his own paws. He set it down on the little table, brushing some loose wood shaving off of the body. He then cast a playfully suspicious glance at Tigress.

"You sure that it won't end up in colorful splinters in the training arena." Po said, and they both laughed lightly. Tigress put a paw to her breast, holding up the other in the air.

"I promise. Warrior's honor." She said through her laughter. Po smiled widely, and picked up a fine chisel in his paw…

For the rest of the day, the two friends sat up there on the cliff underneath the Peach Tree. They sat side-by-side, eating the fresh, delicious peaches that fell from the tree. Po worked hard and diligently, yet carefully, making sure he got every last detail. Tigress watched in amazement as the wood block turned into a beautiful piece of art that she got to keep for the rest of her life, and that she always would. Then, once the shape was just right, Po picked up a paintbrush, dipped it into one of the jars he had saved earlier. Before she knew it, Tigress was watching the simple piece of wood come to life before her very eyes. More than once, she caught Po's green eyes glancing at her as he ran the brush over the figure, painting a certain stripe, or a certain speckle. Tigress couldn't help but smile the whole way through.

Once the figure was finished, Po set it underneath the tree to dry. While waiting, a great battle ensued between Lord Shen and Tai Lung. Tigress kicked Shen right in the head, with Viper in her other paw tying him all up in her pink dancing ribbon. Po was right beside them, adding Tai Lung to the pile. Tigress would not have wanted to spend her day off any other way.


End file.
